Harper was sat in the foundry, her legs kicked up on the table while she swivelled in her chair. Quiver's rambunctious laugh had simmered to mocking giggles. She had to deal with her bothersome jeers and snipes until she managed to break away from her parents for some solitude in the basement. She ignored how easily Quiver seemed to get under her skin and how easily she allowed her to do it.
Oliver had joined her shortly after, pulling up to the monitor and smacking her feet off the table as he gestured for her attention to the screen. Harper sent Dinah a smile as she handed her a steaming cup of coffee, before concentrating back on Oliver.
''So what's the mission?'' she asked, lifting the mug to her lips as Oliver pulled up piles and piles of reports.
" I'm not sure you're going to like it." Oliver said with a wince. Harper raised a brow from behind her coffee before a criminal report lit up the screen. Once Harper absorbed the image of the man, she understood why Oliver was so apprehensive. Coffee spewed from her lips. Oliver grew rigid as he wiped the remnants off his shirt.
"Gross" he grumbled while Harper felt undealt animosity ignite in her chest. Well, that was putting it lightly. Harper was murderous.
Oliver, who had tensed at the blinding rage in his daughter's eyes, replied with a disgruntled "Told you, you wouldn't like it". Harper turned her glare on him.
"Merlyn, really?!" she yelled, outraged as Oliver nodded stiffly.
"He's back in town" Oliver informed, pulling up a string of news reports raving about the sudden return of the Dark Archer, the multiple attacks on locals and the very evident threat that was now on Oliver's shoulders. A vendetta Harper had been dreaming of. To finally get her hands on the man that killed her parents.
"That's insane. He's been gone for like what, two decades. And you're going to tell me all of a sudden, he's just back in town." Harper said suspiciously as he pulled up video footage. Her rage continued to boil when she saw his face on screen. She paused the footage, her hands balling at her side.
" There's reasoning behind his return. " Oliver said as he gestured to an old news article of Deathstroke and Dr Light.
"What do they have to do with anything?" Harper frowned.
"Well we've had a hit on Merlyn ever since he disappeared those many years ago. But he's been under the radar until recently."
"How recently?" Harper asked tentatively.
"Since the death of these two." Oliver said referencing Slade and Arthur Light.
''Okay and? we wasted them. Got revenge. The whole shebang. What does Malcolm Merlyn want with Deathstroke and Dr Light? "Harper scoffed as Oliver sighed, leaning against the table, somewhat dispirited.
"He worked with them" Oliver confessed and Harper let out a disbelieving snort. ''Worked with them? Since when? What could Deathstroke, Dr Light and the Dark Archer possibly have in common for them to be in cahoots with one another. It makes no sense."
"It makes every sense Harper. What's one thing connecting all three?" Oliver said as Harper frowned, glancing at the three images. "Think Harper, there's always one thing tying everyone together. A common goal." he pressed.
"Revenge" Harper realised. Oliver nodded pleased. "On who, us?"
"Precisely" Oliver affirmed. " Deathstroke wanted revenge on you and the Titans after his son Jericho, obviously you guys got to him before he could finish the job. Merlyn wants revenge on me for numerous reasons including putting him in exile for the past two decades. Dr Light was their bridge at killing two birds with one stone."
Ice rushed through her veins. "Makes sense. Everyone knows I was your protégé. If Deathstroke killed me it would have been enough to lure you out. Gives Merlyn the perfect opportunity to attack. But that plan failed miserably, so what? He's angry and wants revenge for us killing Deathstroke and Dr Light?" she said, trying to draw a link between all this.
''It's highly likely" Oliver nodded. "All we know for sure is that he's back and eager to finish what he started. But we're going to end it, tonight, once and for all."
"You know where he is?" She asked as he swiped at the screen revealing a letter, signed by Merlyn, calling him out. Merlyn found them, not the other way around.
Harper stared at it for a long, hard minute. Quiver had gone silent and Harper could feel the excitement and grin that bubbled within her. She didn't turn when she said, "I can't promise I won't kill him" and she meant every word. It ended tonight. Oliver felt his lips quirk.
" I won't be the one to stop you" he said. "So, suit up, we leave in five."
Harper nodded, grabbing her gear. Dinah placed a hand on her shoulder, halting her in place before she could walk away.
"Be careful alright" Dinah told her.
Something stirred in her chest when she noticed how dark Harper had gotten at the revelation of Merlyn's comeback. She felt something shift in the air at how lethal she looked and Dinah, against her better judgment was certain she saw her eyes flash a different colour. But that was impossible. A nagging feeling tugged at her, maybe it was her mother instincts kicking in that was screaming at her that something was about to go horribly wrong tonight. She just didn't know what. So Dinah held her a little longer than necessary, pleading with her in her mind, hoping Harper would feel some of her anxiety.
But Harper merely smiled, heaved her bow on her shoulder and shot Dinah a small, and worrying smile. "I got this" she said. She concealed how much this news really affected her because if they knew she was one string loose from ripping a whole straight through Malcolm Merlyn's chest, they wouldn't have let her join the mission and she'd rather die than let Merlyn escape once again.
It was nightfall the time they had arrived at Papp Stadium, the ground where their final dance would take place. The pitch was vacant, eerily silent as thousands of empty bleacher stands stared back at her. Oliver and Harper bathed in the darkness; his green hood concealed his face obscuring it from prying eyes. Harper hovered at his side, her Artemis gear blending in the shadows.
They hung back, perked up on a pylon beam overlooking the stadium. They had been perched up there for a while now with no sign of Merlyn in sight and Harper was beginning to feel impatient.
"Where is he?" Harper spat as Oliver's stare didn't stray from a specific podium on the field.
"Patience. He'll reveal himself" Oliver said as Harper rolled her eyes.
"This is a trap, you know this. Is he even going to pitch-" Harper was silenced when footsteps suddenly reverberated across the stadium. The clicking of heeled boots seemed to bounce off the walls into her ears. She felt her breath hitch and lump in her throat when his figure emerged on the platform.
Merlyn paused, looked around the stadium with a cocky grin and then laughed. Harper straightened as it echoed.
"There's no need to hide Queen. I know you're here, you and your little sidekick. So how about you pay an old friend a visit. Lord knows it's been long overdue." His voice boomed throught the desolate stadium.
Harper leaned to dart forward when she felt Oliver's stiff and firm hand on her shoulder. "Not yet" he ordered. Harper turned and guffawed. "What do you mean not yet. he's right there" she hissed.
"I said, not yet" Oliver said more forcefully. "Subtlety is the only advantage we have when someone is expecting us to walk into their trap. So lay low" he warned lowly, that was an order.
Harper's defiant gaze jumped between him and Merlyn who began to whistle without a care in the world. The sound was sharp in her ears. Harper was beginning to see only red. Ignore him, he's only holding you back, Quiver's voice cooed in her ears. Like angel and devil toying with her. Merlyn is right there; this is your chance. Do not let Oliver take this away from you. Harper felt the confliction before Quiver said. Don't let Oliver stall your revenge, and then something in her snapped. She wasn't his protégé anymore, she didn't have to listen to him. Her stance shifted and Oliver's head snapped to her but before his hand could clasp around her arm she had already leaped off the beam.
Merlyn turned as she revealed herself. Lights suddenly erupted all around her and with each step illuminated her in a blinding halo. "Merlyn!" her voice boomed across the stadium, bouncing off the stadium. Merlyn cocked an eyebrow and leaned against the railing.
He was not in his Dark Archer suit but rather adorned in an overly sophisticated three piece suit, his hands were hidden in his pockets, head tilted in boredom as if he was not going even to lift a finger at them. Harper was thrown off guard at how languid he was, and that rang alarm bells.
"Artemis is it?" Merlyn said as Harper's jaw ticked. " I've heard a lot about you. You seemed to have cause quite some problems for my friends. Where is Greenie?" he suddenly asked. "I thought I specified the invite."
"He's a bit occupied" she replied and she knew Oliver was probably swearing her right now. "So it's just me."
"A shame. I'm sure he's around here somewhere. He's always been a bit late to the party." Merlyn tested. "Well then, I guess I could still have my fun." his eyes sparkled with something she couldn't place her finger on.
She was a couple feet from the podium, Merlyn looking down at her but she was close enough that he was just a mere handful of a distance away. Harper knew she could easily bridge the gap between them. To have him at the mercy of her hands, ensure he suffered the same way she did, her parents did. But she wanted it prolonged. She wanted closure. She wanted him to remember.
"You don't remember me, do you?" she breathed into the night, her hand encompassing her bow tighter. She was thrust into unwanted memories, trauma, pain and guilt. Previous emotions she had tried to heal, barricade, bubbled to the surface and she just wanted to see his head on a spike.
Merlyn tittered, head resting on his shoulder as if he couldn't care less that she was barely keeping it together before him. "Should I?" he said.
"Yes" she snarked into the night.
"Besides being Arrow's little sidekick. The thorn that my colleagues tried to rid of. No, I don't remember you. Pray tell sweetheart."
"Harper Phoenix" she said, her name falling from her lips in a vulgar way of remembrance. " You ruined my life twenty years ago. You took everything from me."
Merlyn let out a snort. "Is that supposed to ring a bell, Sweetheart I've ruined many lives you need to be specific"
Harper wanted to explode.
"Terror strikes the heart of Star City National Bank. Two casualties of the Dark Archer were reported none other injured. That was the headline in a newspaper two decades ago. The event that drove you into hiding." Merlyn faltered, some sort of remembrance flashed across his face. Harper's glare hardened. "You murdered my parents."
He was silent for a long moment before a new hint of recognition fitted on his face. "You were that little girl."
"Yes, I watched you drive an arrow straight through their chests. I watched how you left without a care. Their bodies in my hands, blood I'll never be able to wash off." she seethed, venom coating her tongue.
"Well, this is a surprise." he said, voice slightly airy. " And you landed in Green Arrow's palms. Isn't that poetic." he said and Harper lost. it.
She felt the burning ripple through her and the accusation burst from her like a volcano. hot and boiling.
"They were innocent!" she yelled, mist spewed around her lips drifting into the frigid air like a dragon coiling amidst the night sky. " My parents were innocent Merlyn. You killed them in cold blood."
Merlyn was stunned when he noticed the flicker of gold overcome her eyes. It flickered beneath the moon, growing as she spewed profanities, inching closer as anger deepened in her throat. At one point he could've sworn it had encompassed her entirely.
His head lolled in confusion.
"How are you-" his words died on his tongue as she notched her arrow faster than he could blink.
"You wish to kill me" He smirked at the way her fingers trembled around her bow, but she remained firm, unwavering beside the subtle way she shook and the raw anger swirling in her eyes.
"Obviously" she snarled as he chcukled.
"You know you cannot kill me little arrow. Your mentor would not allow for such"
"Here is where you have it wrong Merlyn" she said, the fletching brushing her cheek. " He's no longer my mentor."
"I see" the smirk didn’t falter. "Go ahead. Take your shot."
Her fingers tightened around the metal before she heaved a breath and let it fly. Merlyn never wavered in his step, not even when the arrow shot through the air, hurtling towards him with such speed. She watched it shoot towards him, target locked. When it was inches from his chest, the middle of his heart, every light in the stadium was shut off and she, Merlyn and the arrow all plunged into darkness.